36. What Have You Done To Me?!

Chapter 36

What Have You Done To Me?!

Megan

W hen I pry my eyes open, it’s to the view of a plain white ceiling. My entire body feels uncharacteristically heavy as I stare up, dazed. There’s a dull throb in my lower abdomen, and my head feels like it’s stuffed with cotton. My mouth is parched, and when I try to move, a pain-filled moan escapes my lips.

“Megan?” Hunter’s ragged-looking face pops into my line of sight, “How’re you feeling, baby?”

“Feeling?” I echo. “I’m thirsty, but my stomach hurts.”

“Wait.” He picks up a white styrofoam cup of ice water from the side table. He inserts a fresh straw through the plastic lid and raises it to my lips. “Take small sips. Careful.”

The cold liquid goes a long way in clearing my head as I look at Hunter tiredly. I feel about as bad as he looks.

“So, I guess I survived?”

“From a gunshot to the gut? Yes,” he says with an odd look as he presses a button to page a nurse. “You’re going to be more than fine. In fact, there’s something you should know.”

Before he can say anything else, a woman walks in dressed in a white lab coat. I recognize her.

“Dr. Yasmin?”

“Well, you sure are one lucky girl,” she says, beaming at me. How’re you feeling?”

It doesn’t escape me how Hunter’s body shifts uncomfortably whenever anyone refers to me as a “girl”. I haven’t thought about it lately, but I think our age difference makes him much more uneasy than he’ll ever admit out loud.

“It hurts to move, but it’s not as bad as it could be,” I confess, feeling more like myself as my body awakens.

“Well, you and the baby are fine. It’s-“

“I’m sorry,” I sputter, choking on my own salvia. “Me and the what is fine?”

“The baby.” Dr. Yasmin looks at Hunter who now looks annoyed. “You didn’t tell her?”

“I was just about to when you walked in.”

“Wait, I don’t understand.” I look between the two of them, my mind barely processing the words. “I’m pregnant?”

“Yes.” Dr. Yasmin smiles at me. “Congratulations. You and the baby are fine.”

“There must be some mistake. I can’t get pregnant. There was an accident, and I…well, my stepmother told me I couldn’t have kids. She said–“

“Well, you’re perfectly healthy.” Dr. Yasmin frowns. “I don’t know why your stepmother told you that, but she was wrong. You’re actually six weeks along.”

“Six weeks?”

Immediately I try recalling what I’ve been eating, drinking, and doing over the last six weeks. Not once did I feel sick or anything, but now that I think about it, my period was late.

“There’s been so much going on,” I mutter, feeling blank. “ Are you sure?”

“Completely sure. Fortunately, your injury didn’t cause you to lose the baby. And while I recommend you set up an appointment for prenatal care as soon as you’re released, I highly suggest you take it real easy this first trimester. Your body experienced severe trauma two days ago. It needs time to repair and heal itself."

“Wait, I’ve been asleep for two days?”

“You lost quite a bit of blood, Miss Taylor. You and the baby needed your rest.”

Dr. Yasmin conducts a routine checkup on me while I lay there, still processing the news. It’s only when she leaves the room that it all hits me like a ton of bricks.

“You got me pregnant?" It hurts to move, but I’m at least able to tilt to the side, grab the water cup, and throw it at him. “You idiot!“

I can’t think of any better insults right now, plus my hands are shaking in anger and fear.

“It’s good to see that you’re feeling better,” he says casually as he picks up the cup and places it back on the side table. “We’re going to need someone to come to mop up this water.”

“Why are you so calm?” I ask frantically. “I’m having a baby!”

“I know.” He smiles at me.

I stare at him, comprehension dawning on me, as I say slowly, “You’re happy about this?”

He steps closer to the bed. “Until I met you, I never wanted anyone in my life. And until learning about our baby, I didn’t realize I wanted a child. But I realize that with the right person, a lot of things you think you want or don’t want can change in an instant.”

“Oh,” I mumble, my heart feeling unsteady.

“How do you feel about it?”

“Scared,” I say softly. “I’m young, and I don’t have any experience with what good parenting looks like. What the hell do I know about being a mom?"

"You will be great. Look at it this way: at least you know what not to do."

"What does this mean for us?” I ask tentatively.

I see a sly look form in Hunter’s eyes. “Well, I guess it means that you’re stuck with me.”

“You want to raise it together?” I ask, still surprised by his reaction.

“Isn’t that what couples do?”

“I guess but–”

Hunter takes my hand. “You said something to me when I was bringing you to the hospital. I told you to keep fighting and say it to my face once you recover. So, I want you to tell me again.”

I stare at him, and when I remember the moment when I wasn’t sure if I was going to survive and I just wanted him to know my true feelings, my face gets hot.

“Technically, I’m not actually recovered yet.“

“I want to know, Megan.” His voice is serious. “I waited two excruciatingly long days for you to wake up and tell me.”

I don’t know why I’m so scared. He just told me that he wants to raise this baby with me. All he’s ever done since we met is show me how much he cares about me. Why is it so hard for me to say the words?

“I wanted to say thank you,” I begin hesitantly, watching him. “For everything you’d done for me until now. And that I love you. I am in love with you.”

I retreat into myself, irrationally fearing the response. The two of us have shared tender moments before, but this feels significantly different. I was shot. And now there’s a baby. This is serious now.

“When they took you inside for surgery, at first, I was overwhelmed with guilt.”

“This wasn’t your fault.”

Hunter strokes my hair, bending down even closer to me.

“But then all I could think about was how was I supposed to go on without you? I was driving myself crazy with worry. They had you on the operating table for more than three hours because the surgery got complicated once they discovered you were pregnant."

"Oh, my God."

"I was trying to convince myself that once you recovered, I would let you go so that you could live a life that is safer than what you’ll find by my side. But then, they told me you were pregnant, and I was ecstatic. I had a reason to keep you next to me.”

“A reason?” I stare at him. “No offense, Hunter, but that sounds a little messed up.”

He sighs and then takes my hand in his. “It was easier than confessing to you how I really feel.”

My heart begins to beat wildly. “Which is?”

“That I’ve been falling in love with you since the day you spilled my drink on me and then dared me to shoot you. You are the most unruly, unpredictable woman that I have ever met, and you just went and made me fall in love with you. And then, when I was finally determined to push you away for your own safety, you decided to go and get pregnant.”

“First of all,” I sniffle, my heart overflowing with emotion. “That was beautiful, right up to the point where you half suggested that I planned this pregnancy to trap you. You just wait until I’m on my feet. I will kick your ass. If you think I actually planned to get pregnant with your devil spawn, you’re crazier than I thought you were.“

Hunter laughs, swallowing the rest of my protest in a kiss before saying, “I feel like I’m the one who’s trapped you.”

“And you’re happy about this?” I ask when I calm down.

“I am.” He kisses my hand. “You’re giving me all the things I never thought I needed. I love you, Megan, and I’ll love this child of ours just as fiercely.”

My lips curve at his words and then immediately fade when he adds, “Which is why I’m adding a five-person security detail to you wherever you go.”

He grins at me when I scowl.

"Not going to happen."